Challenge
To help build its reputation, the Rumaila oilfield communication team was keen to engage with social media influencers and the wider online community who would have an interest in the organisation and
its work in southern Iraq.
However, there were many active unofficial Rumaila social media profiles, which were gaining popularity and causing confusion. Rumaila needed an official social media presence to build its profile and counter misinformation. Social media was also an important internal channel for reaching the 7,000 strong workforce, spread out across the field.
Insight
Facebook and Instagram were identified as Iraq’s most popular social media channels and we found social media was a powerful way to engage with the workforce. We set out to build an online community for Rumaila creating an entirely new audience base.
Our strategy was to grow interest organically to ensure stable and genuine audiences – people who really wanted to understand Rumaila’s ambitions and what it was doing. Our content focused on topics that would matter most to this audience: posts that would demonstrate Rumaila’s progress, its investment in people and its contribution to Basra.
Action
We create weekly Facebook posts in different formats, including photos, videos, GIFs and animations, across a variety of topics; from production achievements to building a new community health centre, to recognising high-performing teams. The focus is on building an insight into the vast field and its dedicated workforce.
As we get to know the audience and the formats and topics they engage with most, we adjust our content to match. Maintaining relevant content and regular social media monitoring has resulted in Rumaila’s Facebook and Instagram audiences growing steadily each month. The initial momentum was built though the workforce and extended community.
